I’ve had a particular interest for the developments of Fintech in Asia, and am always fascinated by the speed of change in the region. The next month will be packed for Fintech in Asia, and perhaps one of the best times to organise a trip there…
First, the Supercharger – based in Hong Kong. This project is very dear to my heart since, a few years ago, we spent countless hours with Janos Barberis, the amazing founder of the SuperCharger (but also of Fintech HK and the co-editor of The Fintech Book), to think of the best way to accelerate Fintech in Asia. The Supercharger was designed as a unique accelerator not only to help Asian startups to grow, but also late-stage European and American companies to move to Asia. The first programme exceeded all expectations – with startups signing contracts to those raising $71m for their expansion to China – and this year should be at least 3 times better based on the resources available and number of partners. So if you’re a late-stage European/US startup looking to expand to Asia, or an Asian startup looking to grow, you have until the end of the week to register…
The SuperCharger in figures
Since we’re talking about Hong Kong, it would be a good idea to be there from 7 November for the first Hong Kong Fintech Week. It will be a whole week of events around Fintech, starting with Finnovasia Academy and a special focus on China. Then, on 8 November is Finovate Asia: it’s the first time Finovate Asia comes to HK (it was previously in Singapore), and as usual, should be a great opportunity to meet some of the most innovative startups. Then the rest of the week will be about Regtech, blockchains, the HK ecosystem, and ends – as it should be – with the HKMA. So, great week in perspective in HK.
Schedule for Hong Kong
After a very packed Fintech week in Hong Kong, it’s then time to jump on a plane to go to Singapore for the first Singapore Fintech Festival organised by MAS. As previously mentioned, I’m impressed by what MAS and its charismatic head of Fintech do in Fintech, and the Festival is a great example of innovation from a regulator. The week (14 November) starts with the highly anticipated Lab Crawl, where the many innovation labs in Singapore open their doors to the public. Then the demo days of the 20 participants that were selected as winners of the 100 problem statements. And then 2 days of conference, the Awards dinner, and many evening events I am told…
Schedule Singapore
If you’re in Singapore for the Festival, you’ll have a bit of a dilemma on Friday 18 November, because it’s the start of Echelon, the first international tech even in Vietnam. Echelon is organised by Sieng Van Tran, the serial entrepreneur who, amongst other things, organised the first ever Polo competition in Vietnam – so I was told to expect many surprises… For those who are wondering what’s happening in Vietnam tech, this will be a great 2-day opportunity to meet those who count in that space.
All this activity in Asia reflects the trend of increasing Fintech initiatives around the world, and if you were wondering what to do next month, a round-trip ticket to Asia might not be a bad investment…
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